I took my vehicle to Methuen Auto Care for an appointment to get an oil change and general inspection of the vehicle. Everything went well with it and I was happy with the service. When the oil change was finished, I mentioned that I was having some strange sound coming from the car when I drove at certain speeds. I was unsure what the sound was, but we determined that it was not the tires and not the wheel bearings, but most likely a differential. We were unable to determine whether it was front or rear. After coming back inside after a short test drive with the owner of the shop, he said something to the effect of "you can get too carried away chasing small sounds and it can create a headache and lead to many costly repairs." And it was left at that. They did have differential oil change service available that they said they could do, but nothing was looked into or suggested beyond that. So I left.
After a week or so, I figured I would get a second opinion on the differential noise just to see what another shop said. So I took it to a second shop. They put the car on a lift and basically pinpointed the rear differential as having something wrong internally. They said an oil change would not fix the issue and although it wasn't an urgent issue, the differential would inevitably get worse until it failed. Since my car had very low miles on it, they were also shocked by this finding. They gave me a price of what it would cost to have them do the work, but also recommended that although I may have no luck, I should at least call the Toyota dealership to see if there is an extended warranty on the part. And sure enough, I called, and there was an extended warranty. Very good news.
Now here's where things get interesting. Weeks later, I decide to leave a review for Methuen Auto Care on Google. I gave them a 4 star review and explained in my description that I appreciate their service, pricing, and facilities. My only hangup with taking 1 star off was because I feel they didn't look into the differential problem to the level that the next auto shop did. I wasn't expecting a full diagnosis that very day, but they never tried to set up an appointment for a further inspection. They only made it sound like it would be a hassle to chase it down at this point, but they offered a differential oil change, which would have done no good. So I explain all this in the review and post it to Google.
A few days later, I get a call on my cell phone. It's the owner of Methuen Auto Care. Somehow he tracked me down. He starts by telling me that my review was very unfair and it made them sound like idiots for not looking further into the differential issue. He says its not representative of the service I received. I listened to him explain everything, but I told him I thought it was a fair review because I found a shop that looked further into it and seemed more knowledgeable about the problem, so I don't see what the issue with taking 1 star off is. He proceeded to tell me that I had a few days to take my review down, and if I did not, I would be contacted by his lawyer and he would be suing me for defamation.
I'm sure most of the service people get there is pretty good, given their ratings, but when one person has a small complaint and you go threatening them with legal action for an online review, that shows something about your character. As I had once been willing to go back to your shop and even recommend it to others, I can guarantee I will never step foot through that door again and will do everything I can to warn others of your slimy business tactics to manipulate the truth spoken in public reviews of your business. Want to still pursue legal action? I'm ready to fight your empty claims of defamation. And I hope you're ready to have the local news stations knocking on your door wondering why the heck you're suing your customers over a 4 star review. read more
